The U.N. headquarters
The East River-facing U.N. building, which has been under renovation since 2009, has received a final cost for the work: $2 billion, the Associated Press reported, which is 4 percent over the project’s initial budget.
This marks the first renovation of the building since its opening 60 years ago, the AP reported. Changes include asbestos abatement, new shared work stations from private offices and blast-proof windows that cannot be opened due to security measures. [more]
From the September issue: New York City homeowners are doing far fewer gut renovations than in the past. Instead, many are opting for cheaper cosmetic upgrades like refinishing floors, installing new appliances and replacing countertops.
In this month’s Q&A, The Real Deal talked to residential contractors and architects about what kind of activity they’re seeing in the home renovation business in the city, given the touch-and-go economy.
Many said that while the wealthiest of clients are still breaking down walls, most others are sticking to kitchens, bathrooms and surface-level fixes. The one exception is for price-conscious young families that are leaving Manhattan for cheaper, farther-flung neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens, where they’re buying old, dilapidated homes and buildings as fixer-uppers. [more]
There are sweeping changes afoot at Madison Square Garden, the Wall Street Journal reported, so much so that MSG President and Chief Executive Hank Ratner is referring to the building as “the fifth Garden,” an entirely new arena that just happens to be in the same building. The first round of renovations is slated to be completed by October, in time for the Rangers’ home opener.
MSG executives this week gave the most detailed look at renovations so far. The Garden has been gutted and the locker rooms, Delta Club and 1879 Club are all only halfway completed. As previously reported, the project is expected to cost between $775 million and $850 million.
With ticket price hikes of 49 percent coming into play this season, being a premium ticket holder comes with a few extra perks. [more]
From the July issue: At the height of the recession, New Yorkers could rent deeply discounted apartments without paying brokers’ fees, but found that aging appliances and scuffed hallways were often the norm.
Those days are over. Now, landlords are courting renters with granite countertops and new, stainless steel appliances — in exchange for higher rents, of course.
With the market bouncing back and renter incentives disappearing, many landlords are ramping up renovations at their buildings, after several years of avoiding major capital projects. With rents rising, the economics of renovations make sense again. [more]
Opulent home renovations are still happening, albeit quietly, even as
many consumers scale back purchases. Upscale British interior, kitchen
and furniture designer Clive Christian opened a 7,500-square-foot
showroom at 150 East 58th Street at the end of May, and the showroom
has already generated $5 million in sales, $2 million more than the
company’s previous showroom at 1020 Madison Avenue generated in all of
2008. “We are removed” from the recession, said Robert Hughes, who is
in charge of Clive Christian’s global business development. “We’re not
dealing with people whose portfolios have been affected.” [more]
This may not sound like much, but they have just finished restoring the
steps in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. After a full year of
complicated renovations, first on the northern half of the steps and
then on the southern half, the museum has finally cleared away the ugly
and laborious fencing and tarps. But the completion of all that work is far more than simply a question
of restoring some steps: for the stairs leading up to the Met, at Fifth
Avenue and 82nd street, represent one of the grandest urban spaces in
New York City and almost certainly the noblest and most popular on the
entire Upper East Side. [more]
